How it works
When the TV is switched on, the Masthead ad appears first in a featured carousel of content, followed by organic recommendations. When the user focuses on the Masthead, which means they press the down button on their remote, the Masthead increases in size and presents the CTA button. After 2 seconds, if the viewer remains idle, the Masthead transitions into a fullscreen video with audio.
If the viewer clicks on the CTA button, they’ll be directed into the app or YouTube content via deep link. If the deep link leads to an app that isn’t installed by the viewer, Google TV will lead them to the app’s page on Google Play, where they can download it.
Available bidding strategy
Cost-per-thousand impressions (CPM)
With CPM, you pay per one thousand impressions. CPM provides a reserved and fixed volume of impressions that are delivered over the course of your campaign.
Available targeting options
Google TV Masthead campaigns can utilize the following targeting options:
- Affinity segments
- Days, but not partial days or hours
- Demographics
- Geo-targeting
- Parental status
- User language
How Masthead appears on Google TV
“For you” landing page
Auto play
Focused state
Immersive preview
Required creative assets
You need these assets in a Masthead. To preview your assets, use the YouTube Masthead Preview Tool. This tool shows what your masthead will look like on Google TV’s home screen and when it’s in the focused state.
- For Masthead campaigns held in the US, creatives must be content-forward, meaning it should be promoting a show, movie, or event.
- Creatives must be family-friendly and not promote violence, foul language, or sexually-explicit content.
- Creatives mustn’t feature Inappropriate content and promotional text must meet Editorial policies.
- Creatives must be submitted no later than 2 days before launching the campaign (5 days if the campaign is going to run in APAC or LATAM)
- There’s a maximum of 5 creatives per campaign, which will rotate evenly.
- There will be up to 1 creative swap per campaign flight.
- The following categories are restricted from running Google TV Masthead campaigns:
- Consumer electronics, including TV manufacturers and TV operating systems
- Virtual assistants
- Gambling
- Alcohol
- Pharmaceutical
- Political
Asset | Required? | Guidelines |
---|---|---|
Title | Yes | The title or product name of the content in the Masthead. Use the YouTube Masthead Preview Tool for recommendations on text lengths. |
Promotional description | Yes |
The brief and informative text that appears under the title. Shorter phrases are preferred, so don’t aim to fill the allotted space. Use the YouTube Masthead Preview Tool for recommendations on text lengths. For descriptions containing a premiere date, you must follow the format “Series premiere [Day], [Month] [Date]”. The promotional description strictly mustn’t contain the following:
|
Video promo | Yes |
Promotional video or trailer for content. Ensure the content of the video is appropriate for general audiences. The video must be hosted on Youtube. The resolution needs to be 1920 x 1080 or higher with a runtime between 10 to 30 seconds. It’s also recommended to provide a 16:9 video for optimal performance, and to avoid placing logo overlays and watermarks for the duration of the video. The video strictly mustn’t contain the following:
|
Immersive background | Yes |
A visually engaging backdrop asset which supports the content being promoted. The immersive background is pulled from the video thumbnail of the video promo hosted on YouTube. The main subject or primary focus should be within the right half of the image. The image file should be a high-quality .jpg or in .png without transparency. It should also be in 16:9 ratio, and the size should be 1920 x 1080 pixels. A PSD template is available for download. The background strictly mustn’t contain the following:
|
App ID | Yes | App ID of the app that should be opened upon clicking on the CTA button. The app should be available on Google TV and in the specific country your ad will run in. Learn how to Find mobile app names and IDs for targeting. |
Call-to-action (CTA) | Yes | The text in the CTA button, which depends on the availability of the content. When the user focuses on the Masthead, a CTA button will appear containing the CTA text. The CTA will also appear as an overlay when the video promo is played. Use the YouTube Masthead Preview Tool for recommendations on text lengths. To determine what the CTA should be, refer to Call-to-action options. |
Deep link URL | No, but recommended |
The destination URL for the CTA button. When the CTA button is clicked, it can go to the specific piece of content in your app or platform using the content’s deep link. If the deep link isn’t provided, the user will be redirected to the app homepage instead, if the app is installed. |
Call-to-action options
The CTA will differ depending on the availability of the content as well as the country where the campaign will be held.
English (US, United Kingdom, Australia, Ireland)
Availability and access to content | CTA text |
---|---|
Subscription app/service (SVOD) | Watch on [App name] |
Advertising embedded (AVOD) | Watch on [App name] |
Single transaction to rent (TVOD) | Rent now |
Single transaction to buy (TVOD) | Buy now |
Theatrical releases | Watch the full trailer |
Unreleased or pre-premiere content, such as live events and future content | Learn more on [App name] |
Other cases | Learn more |
Spanish (US)
Availability and access to content | CTA text |
---|---|
Subscription app/service (SVOD) | Mirar en [App name] |
Advertising embedded (AVOD) | Mirar en [App name] |
Single transaction to rent (TVOD) | Alquilar ahora |
Single transaction to buy (TVOD) | Comprar ahora |
Theatrical releases | Ver avances completos |
Unreleased or pre-premiere content, such as live events and future content | Más información en [App name] |
Other cases | Más información |
Spanish (Spain)
Availability and access to content | CTA text |
---|---|
Subscription app/service (SVOD) | Ver en [App name] |
Advertising embedded (AVOD) | Ver en [App name] |
Single transaction to rent (TVOD) | Alquilar ahora |
Single transaction to buy (TVOD) | Comprar ahora |
Theatrical releases | Ver el tráiler completo |
Unreleased or pre-premiere content, such as live events and future content | Más información en [App name] |
Other cases | Más información |
French (France)
Availability and access to content | CTA text |
---|---|
Subscription app/service (SVOD) | Regarder sur [App name] |
Advertising embedded (AVOD) | Regarder sur [App name] |
Single transaction to rent (TVOD) | Louer maintenant |
Single transaction to buy (TVOD) | Acheter maintenant |
Theatrical releases | Voir la bande annonce |
Unreleased or pre-premiere content, such as live events and future content | En savoir plus via [App name] |
Other cases | En savoir plus |
French (Canada)
Availability and access to content | CTA text |
---|---|
Subscription app/service (SVOD) | Regarder sur [App name] |
Advertising embedded (AVOD) | Regarder sur [App name] |
Single transaction to rent (TVOD) | Louer maintenant |
Single transaction to buy (TVOD) | Acheter maintenant |
Theatrical releases | Voir la bande-annonce |
Unreleased or pre-premiere content, such as live events and future content | En savoir plus sur [App name] |
Other cases | En savoir plus |
German
Availability and access to content | CTA text |
---|---|
Subscription app/service (SVOD) | Auf [App name] ansehen |
Advertising embedded (AVOD) | Auf [App name] ansehen |
Single transaction to rent (TVOD) | Film ausleihen |
Single transaction to buy (TVOD) | Film kaufen |
Theatrical releases | Ganzen Trailer ansehen |
Unreleased or pre-premiere content, such as live events and future content | Auf [App name] mehr erfahren |
Other cases | Mehr erfahren |
Italian
Availability and access to content | CTA text |
---|---|
Subscription app/service (SVOD) | Guarda su [App name] |
Advertising embedded (AVOD) | Guarda su [App name] |
Single transaction to rent (TVOD) | Noleggia ora |
Single transaction to buy (TVOD) | Acquista ora |
Theatrical releases | Guarda il trailer completo |
Unreleased or pre-premiere content, such as live events and future content | Scopri di più su [App name] |
Other cases | Scopri di più |
Japanese
Availability and access to content | CTA text |
---|---|
Subscription app/service (SVOD) | [App name]で見る |
Advertising embedded (AVOD) | [App name]で見る |
Single transaction to rent (TVOD) | レンタルする |
Single transaction to buy (TVOD) | 購入する |
Theatrical releases | 予告編を見る |
Unreleased or pre-premiere content, such as live events and future content | [App name]で詳細を見る |
Other cases | 詳細を見る |
Reporting
Metrics
Google TV Masthead supports these metrics in reporting:
- Impressions
- Clicks to video
- Clicks to advertiser site
- Video completion rates
- Video quartiles
- Unique reach
Google TV Masthead doesn’t support click or impressions trackers.